


Reach for My Soul

by VTheTrashKing



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Soul Eater
Genre: Claude is flirty, Demonic Beast, Exams, Fantastic Racism, Gen, Golden Deer/Blue Lions appear briefly, Hinted Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, One Shot, POV Third Person, Soul Eater AU, Weapon Claude, Weapon Dimitri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:49:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22945813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VTheTrashKing/pseuds/VTheTrashKing
Summary: Weapon partners Claude and Dimitri take a practical exam. While preparing for it, Claude reminisces about how he met Dimitri.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 16
Kudos: 89
Collections: Quality Fics





	Reach for My Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Still don't have the game but that doesn't mean I can't write about it.

Claude sat by his small friend group, chattering away. He jokingly called them the “Golden Deer Squad Fam.” Hilda, Lorenz and Lysithea vehemently complained at the group name. To stop them from screaming about it, Claude shortened it to Golden Deer.

“So, whatcha think Teach is planning for the final exam?”

Hilda tilted her head, placing a finger on her chin. Her vibrant pink hair fell over her shoulders.

“Too much work and effort, I’ll tell you that.”

Claude snorted, “Well, it _is_ a final exam.”

Hilda groaned, “Ugh. Can I just take it next week?”

“As your leader-”

“You aren’t our leader.” Lysithea cut in without even looking at Claude.

“As your totally not leader, we have to brave the final exam together!”

“I don’t know, Claude. I’ll just cram for it later.”

“Hilda, our final exams are _always_ going to be practical exams.” Ignatz sheepishly replied.

“I’ll cram for that, too!” Hilda shouted.

Claude let out an exaggerated gasp, “You’d _hurt_ your poor weapon partner by failing your exam?”

Hilda flushed red, “You-! You!”

“Me.”

“You’re insufferable, Claude.”

Claude gleamed, “You love me.”

“Unfortunately.” 

“Um, please don’t be so cruel to Claude, Hilda. He’s- he’s a nice person.” Marianne quietly interjected.

Hilda seemed to stop, losing her half-annoyed expression. She smiled ever so softly at her weapon partner.

“Don’t worry, Anne! I’m only teasing him.”

“Oh, um, then- I guess it’s okay?”

Hilda laughed, “He’s a big boy, he can take it.”

“Hey! I can only take so much slander, Hilda.”

Hilda rolled her eyes at Claude. 

Their light hearted bickering came to a stop once Byleth entered the classroom. The sea of students went quiet. 

“Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, Byleth!” They chirped.

Anyone who somehow didn’t have Byleth as a professor would find the lack of a title strange, but after their first day with the young instructor, Byleth requested the class to drop their last name and any other honorifics. A few students still called Byleth “Professor” either out of respect or as a joke. 

“There has been talk about our final exam. To clear up any confusion, I will explain. Other classes will go up against their professors to determine their strength. You, however, will _not_ be doing that. Our final exam will test how strong your meister-weapon relationship is.”

_Well, we got this in the bag, then._

Byleth waited for the murmurs and speculation to stop.

“That may seem like an easy A, but that is where you are wrong. For your final exam, you must fight alongside your partner with limited commands and constant eye contact.”

“How will we accomplish that, Professor?” Edelgard questioned.

“Verbal cues such as ‘Transform’ may help.” Byleth answered with a blank look on their face.

“Uh, that doesn’t really help?” Caspar replied.

Byleth blinked slowly.

“Figure it out. You have two hours before the exam begins.”

The class roared in surprise. Claude searched for a certain noodle haired blonde. Dimitri and Claude locked eyes.

“It appears your leader must abandon his post. Farewell my Squad Fam.”

“Good riddance.” Lysithea shot back.

Snorting, Claude got up from his seat and made his way over to Dimitri.

“Hey Blue Lions!” Claude greeted with a smile.

Everyone except Felix waved at him. Claude huffed out a laugh. 

Claude’s emerald eyes roved over to Dimitri. Dimitri smiled at him.

“Hello Claude, how was your morning?”

Smoothly, Claude responded, “Better now that I get to see you.”

Red colored Dimitri’s face, all the way up to his ears.

“I- _Claude_!”

“Yes, that’s my name.”

“You’re,” Dimitri paused, looking away, “joking with me, yes?”

Claude simply rose an eyebrow. Dimitri sputtered and went quiet.

Claude turned to the rest of the Blue Lions as he gently tugged on Dimitri’s sleeve.

“I’ll steal Your Princeliness from you for awhile.”

“He won’t be missed.” Felix offhandedly said.

“Felix.” Dedue firmly called.

“He _probably_ will be missed.” Felix rephrased.

“Ice cold as always, Fe.” Sylvain joked.

“You know what they say about ice, it always melts!” Claude chirped as Felix glared him down.

Claude whisked Dimitri away and walked out of the room. 

“So, Dimi.”

As much as Dimitri tried to ignore the nickname, his blushing face gave his feelings away.

“Yes, Claude?”

“What’s your plan to ace this exam?”

“Adhere to the brief instruction Professor Byleth gave us.” 

Claude laughed and slung an arm over Dimitri’s shoulder.

“I mean, hey, if all we have to do is stare at each other, I’m sure we’ll pass.”

Dimitri kept his mouth shut as Claude boldly continued.

“After all, you’re quite the handsome man.”

“I’ll- I’ll have to refute that.”

“You and your ‘let’s not accept compliments’ schtick.” Claude bemoaned.

“That’s not it,” Claude made a face at Dimitri’s weak words, “I’ve always thought you were, ah- yes.”

“I’m yes?”

“Yes.” Dimitri firmly answered.

“I see, Dimi, I see.”

Dimitri croaked before regaining composure, “You’re like those characters in old fairy tales. Enchantingly beautiful with their sun kissed skin and silver tongue.”

Claude rapidly blinked. He felt heat rise to his face.

“You know, you never cease to amaze me, Dimi.”

“I only try. Now, let’s refocus on our upcoming exam.”

“Let’s. We shouldn’t aim for flattery or anything over the top. We should just use one word commands, like Teach suggested.” 

Dimitri nodded, “Of course. Although, I’d rather not refer to you as ‘lance’ or ‘weapon.’ I know how you feel about it, so I wish not to offend you.”

Internally, Claude swooned.

_This boy. So painfully honest and kind without any ulterior motives._

Claude’s mind backpedaled to an ugly event in his past. He’s had a _lot_ , such as blatant racism and assassination attempts, but this _one_ part of his life still haunted him.

Claude met his meister in orientation. Claude wasn’t one to give trust so easily. He even kept his beloved Golden Deer at arms length for a _long_ while. He knew more about them than they knew about himself. They were oddly fine with that. At the time, he yearned to be accepted by a meister. His parents always had said the meister-weapon relationship was one of the strongest, _greatest_ bonds a person could have. His meister, at first, lived up to the hope Claude had. 

They didn’t judge him for his skin color, his identity.

They treated him nicely.

That changed, unfortunately. Behind closed doors, his meister forced him to go past his limit. They would berate him for being a weak weapon. Something less than dirt. Every single mistake or choice Claude made, was harshly criticized. His meister exploited and abused Claude’s Crest. Whenever his meister was injured, they would order Claude to heal them, causing his Crest to activate. When Claude was injured- hurt, bleeding, anything, his meister _nullified_ the effect of his Crest with a simple demand. They would say, “I’m worth more than you. Heal yourself later or not at all.”

The worst of it was his meister’s refusal to call Claude by his name.

Weapon- Tool- Lance.

_Thing._

It reached a boiling point when his meister could no longer wield him. Claude’s wavelength stopped matching with his meister. His weapon form constantly burned their hands and his Crest _refused_ to heal the injuries. His meister’s incompatible wavelength caused Claude to bleed. Claude wasn’t sure if his Crest helped, as the second he healed, he just _kept_ bleeding. 

Claude never let it slip about how he was treated until his friends and the staff got concerned. At first, he’d brush them off.

“Oh, it’s just a little lover’s spat.” Claude joked with a fake smile.

“We’ll get over this, no problem!”

“Don’t worry guys, it’ll be fine. I’m strong like Raphael, see?”

“Eh, I only had a rough day, nothing I can’t handle.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m fine.”

“I-”

_‘Stop making excuses, Claude!’_

_‘We’re pretty worried about you, Claude.’_

_‘Please tell us what’s wrong.’_

_‘Um, if you w-want to, please vent to us.’_

_‘Honestly, lying doesn’t suit you, Claude.’_

His Golden Deer saw right through him. For once, he was okay with that. Within a mere matter of hours, his meister was expelled and stripped of all their progress. Their A rank and seventy souls were taken away. Claude supposed it was worth it, as Byleth’s blank expression shifted into something _fierce._ Teach _never_ yelled. That day, however, it was like something came over their calm and collected professor. For a split second, Byleth’s eyes flashed green as they viciously chewed out the ex-meister.

Good times. 

So, for about three months, Claude was meister-less. It felt _good_ to be free of that mess. 

Until people started _talking_ about it. Coming up to his face and pestering him about it. Cornering him, sneering at him for being a “failure.”

Teenagers were teenagers, unfortunately.

One day, crowds of drama-hungry students surrounded him right in the school’s training grounds. Claude ignored them, as he always did. He began to walk away. But of course, _one_ student took offense to that. One of the kids hurled racist slurs at him and when that didn’t work, the kid - keyword here, _tried_ to push him to the ground. Claude kept his cool.

Different people, same words and actions. 

It was then Claude met Dimitri. He’s seen the blonde around, overheard rumors about him, too. A beastly weapon, an animal, a bloodthirsty wild boar hiding behind a kind boy. Intense stuff, really. They were rumors without much evidence.

“What- _what_ do you think you’re doing?” Dimitri demanded from the student, from the _crowd,_ even.

Claude watched Dimitri with carefully empty eyes. 

The students briefly quieted down.

“To degrade him, to push him around is _disgusting._ _You_ are meant to be heroes to the ones who _cannot_ defend themselves, and yet you forget yourselves.”

“He doesn’t belong here!”

Dimitri definitely did _not_ look pleased with the student’s response. Nonetheless, he let them continue under the guise of being polite.

“He has no meister and his last one was right to think of him as a failure. A _half-breed_ , too! All he’s doing is plaguing us with his exist-”

“Claude is doing no such thing!” Dimitri practically _spat._

Claude rose both his eyebrows at him.

“I will not use baseless accusations to defend him, nor will I allow you to attack him as such! From what _I_ believe, Claude has _every_ right to be in this academy. For his Crest, he could be a nurse- a _doctor,_ even! As a weapon, he is incredibly strong and dutiful on his _own._ ”

Claude’s eyes shimmered with pure shock before going cold.

“He is no less of a man than you are. Where he ‘belongs’ does not concern you. _Who,_ not what he is - is no matter to you! Whatever happened to him is frankly, _none_ of your business.”

The student’s last ditch effort was another attack on Claude’s character. To Claude’s surprise, Dimitri just _punched_ the guy square in the face. He didn’t seem to realize he even did it, until the student laid unconscious on the floor. With an owlish look, Dimitri wiped the blood off his knuckles. He walked over to the student and checked up on him. He breathed a sigh of relief once the kid regained consciousness.

“How are you going to explain this little incident?” Claude casually asked once everyone fled from Dimitri.

Dimitri’s expression was _so_ transparent that it hurt. Confusion gave way to melancholy, then to a neutral look.

“I fully intend to tell the truth. It’s wrong if I kept quiet about this, Claude.”

“I’m used to it.”

Claude saw the _moment_ Dimitri’s heart broke.

“Then, I’ll cut a path for the future where this treatment no longer exists.”

It sounded like a promise. A promise Claude himself made many years ago. Dimitri didn’t have to know that.

“That’ll take a _long_ time, you sure you’re up for a goal that big?”

“ _Yes._ ”

A little sheepishly, Dimitri added, “Would it be too forward of me to ask for your help?”

Claude could have responded with -

‘Yes, yes, it would.’

‘A little.’

‘What exactly do you want with me?’

Instead, he let his smile reach his eyes. He basked in the amazed look on Dimitri’s face.

“No, of course not. It’ll be a _bit_ hard for me to get used to you, but I’ll be your weapon partner.”

Dimitri delicately smiled at Claude, “As will I. Thank you, Claude.”

“Claude? Hello? Claude!”

Claude was snapped out of his thoughts by one Dimitri Alexandre Bladdyid.

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“You were spacing out, I was starting to get worried.”

“I’m fine, trust me. Anyway, instead of shouting ‘weapon’ at me,” Claude turned to Dimitri with a meaningful look on his face, “why don’t you call me Khalid?”

Dimitri froze up.

“Isn’t that your- you know.”

Claude nodded, “My birth name in Almyra, yeah.”

Claude hadn’t expected to trust Dimitri a great deal, and yet, here he was. 

“Khalid,” Dimitri whispered, testing out the name, “Khalid. It’s a beautiful name.”

If Claude didn’t have any self-control, he would have let out an unbefitting noise for a heir. A cross between a screech and choke.

“It’s only a name, nothing too special.”

Dimitri, of course, took his words _very_ seriously. Dimitri joking around was not a common occurrence. Or so Claude thought. 

“Now it’s you who can’t accept a compliment.”

“I see I’ve been rubbing off on you.” 

“That you are, Claude.” Dimitri said with a laugh.

Dimitri sobered up, “With that being said, let’s get ready for this exam.”

* * *

The class re-grouped in a large tan-colored colosseum. They sat on the sandy ground or available seats. Byleth stood in the center colosseum with a microphone. 

“Good afternoon, class. As you can tell, I have brought you all to one of the testing areas,” Byleth cleared their throat, “now, here are the requirements.”

Byleth gestured to their left, “Whether you are paired with someone or not, you must defeat a single Demonic Beast. In the event where you or your partner are unable to fight, I will give you the credit if you mostly follow the rubric. As mentioned before, you must be able to non-verbally communicate with your partner and maintain eye contact. I will take off points if you speak too often or too much, or if you cheat. _If_ you cheat, I will be very disappointed in you.”

Byleth’s blank face cracked into something fond, “Good luck.”

Byleth glanced at Dimitri and Claude. Claude smiled at his friends. He got up from the ground and turned to face them. He walked backwards, saluting his Golden Deer while he spun in place to meet Byleth’s eyes. Their professor seemed mildly amused by his antics. Dimitri followed suit without any flair.

“Are you ready?”

Claude locked eyes with Dimitri with an almost smug smile on his face. Dimitri shot him a confident grin.

“We are, Professor.”

Byleth gestured for the rest of the class to get off the floor. They made their way to the colosseum seats. Byleth pulled out a small buzzer from their pants pocket. Once their professor pressed the red button, an ear splitting roar boomed across the area. A massive bird-like Demonic Beast dashed towards them. Byleth darted away, quick as lightning. Claude and Dimitri shared another look. Dimitri reached out for Claude. The moment their hands intertwined, Dimitri glowed a royal blue. He changed into a golden metallic bow with intricate midnight blue detailing. 

Claude eyed his surroundings.

_Climbing won’t be very useful here, it’ll take too long._

Claude gently shook his head and aimed his bow. A glowing sky blue arrow materialized onto the bow. Claude displayed three fingers before shooting an arrow. It flew true, splitting apart into three separate arrows. One pierced the beast’s right eye and blinded it. The others cracked through the stone armor on the Demonic Beast’s stomach. 

Claude clicked his tongue. Dimitri shared the same sentiment. 

“Khalid.” Dimitri whispered.

Dimitri transformed back into a human, while Claude turned into a lance. Yellow light covered his body until he fully morphed into a weapon. The pole of the weapon was silver, with light green engravings. The pointed steel head had a curve to it, almost resembling a crescent moon. Wrapped around the joint between the blade and the pole was a vibrant golden yellow cloth. It was secured by a backwards crescent moon pin.

Claude internally hummed in delight. With anything Dimitri held, he was careful with them. Delicate, even. The grip Dimitri had on Claude’s weapon form was firm, yet gentle. There _were_ times Dimitri held on a little too tightly, and of course, he would apologize. Claude brushed it off as his Crest healed the bruises within moments.

The Demonic Beast flapped its wings. Violent winds kicked up. The massive creature took flight. It flapped its wings faster, causing Dimitri to be pushed back. Gritting his teeth, Dimitri ran as fast as he could against the wind. After a few seconds, Dimitri found himself standing below the bird-like monster. Dimitri freed his left hand. He put his index and middle finger together. A bowstring appeared from his fingers, wrapping itself around them. It unraveled like yarn. Dimitri raised his left arm and pulled it behind his head. He made a throwing motion, latching onto the beast’s right foot. 

Dimitri slowly swung back and forth. He gained enough momentum to fully swing forward. Dimitri let go. Before gravity pulled him down, Dimitri reattached his bowstring to the Demonic Beast’s back. Dimitri climbed along the beast’s back and kept a tight grip onto its plumage. It shrieked in pain, twirling around midair. Dimitri shouted in alarm, holding on for dear life. Dimitri created more bowstrings on his body, except for his right arm. The strings latched onto the Demonic Beast. He raised his right arm and swiftly brought Claude down. Dimitri used his Crest in tandem with his strike, breaking the beast’s left wing. 

The Demonic Beast cried out, letting out inhuman wails and bird-like low warbles. It struggled to stay in the air. The monster frantically flapped its other wing. It rapidly fell. The Demonic Beast tried to ram itself into the colosseum wall. Dimitri’s eyes went wide for a moment. He quickly detached the bowstrings connecting his body to the creature. Dimitri crashed into the wall with a grunt. He slid down onto the ground. Dimitri groaned.

Claude sucked in a breath, as if he _felt_ the pain. 

“Dimi!” Claude yelled, both concerned and as a cue. 

Claude transformed into a human once Dimitri recovered. Dimitri switched, turning back into a bow. Claude shuffled backwards, making some distance. The Demonic Beast thrashed. Claude kept his eye on the creature and rapidly side stepped around it.

 _Okay, I can either go for something risky, like a charge shot or stun it some more. No matter what I do, my Crest will heal Dimitri, which is good._

Claude bit his lip.

_Find a weakness, find a weakness._

Claude stood several feet away from the Demonic Beast. As it continued to writhe in pain, Claude aimed the bow between the beast’s eyes. Claude made a fist with his hand. An arrow emerged. The glowing blue arrow quickly turned gold as it charged up. Claude squeezed his hand into a fist twice. The arrow flashed. It fired, turning into a thin beam of light. Dimitri’s Crest activated. It shot through the beast’s head. Once the monster was hit, the blood dripping from its wound glowed yellow. It weaved around Claude’s body and formed a shape. His Crest. It healed both Claude and Dimitri.

The Demonic Beast screamed. Its tail feathers turned into stone and roughly struck Claude. The force slammed him into the wall. The monster raised its head high and ran towards Claude. It somewhat waddled. The Demonic Beast snagged Claude’s leg and violently shook its head. Claude was launched onto the ground with a loud thud. Spitting out blood, Claude rolled to his left. He shakily stood back up. The top half of Dimitri’s face flashed along the bow. He stared at Claude, worried.

Claude only smiled. He relaxed himself. Claude swung his arm out, uncurling his hand from the bow. Dimitri turned back into a human. Dimitri forced himself to keep his mouth closed, but Claude could tell his partner was worried sick. Claude grinned to reassure Dimitri.

Claude made a quick overhead throwing motion with his arm. His grin wobbled as he let out a laugh. Dimitri shook his head, smiling fondly at him. Claude grabbed Dimitri’s hand and turned into his lance form. 

_He better say it, it’s one of our cues._

Dimitri twirled the lance and brought it over his head.

With a reluctant sigh and an eye roll, Dimitri roared a single word.

“ _YEET_!”

Dimitri pulled his right arm back and _launched_ Claude like a rocket. The blade sliced through the Demonic Beast’s left foot. It screeched bloody murder as it slumped to the ground. It pecked at the lance, eventually holding the pole between its beak. The Demonic Beast flung the weapon _hard._

“Claude!”

As Claude was sent flying, he transformed back into a human. He screamed until he found himself in Dimitri’s arms. The blonde easily carried Claude, as if he weighed nothing. Dimitri gave Claude a once over, checking to see if he was alright. He smiled in relief. 

Dimitri gently set Claude down. His smile faded away. Strings flowed from his right fingertips. He latched them around the Demonic Beast’s neck. As his Crest activated, he yanked his arm back with all his strength. The creature was brought down with a heavy thud. Wind escaped from beneath its body and the momentum. The Demonic Beast was _dragged_ forward. 

Claude winked at Dimitri. Dimitri stared straight ahead, clearly focused. A hint of pink colored his cheeks, however. Claude broke out into a run. He darted towards the Demonic Beast. His right arm gave off a golden glow before turning into a curved blade. Claude slashed the Demonic Beast’s head clean off. Blood poured onto the sand, dying it red. 

Claude let out a loud groan. He swayed a bit as his arm went back to normal. Dimitri quickly caught him before he fell over.

“Are you okay, Claude?”

Claude let his eyes slip close. He sunk deeper into Dimitri’s chest. Claude tiredly smiled up at a fussing, surprised Dimitri.

“Hi.”

Dimitri weakly smiled, “Hello, Claude. Will you be alright?”

Claude grinned, still somewhat out of it.

_Thank you. For everything._


End file.
